Tacos and Tamales~My View From the 27th Floor~ New York City

Not only can recipes be challenging, but the space you have to work in can also be a challenge. I am very familiar with cooking in a small kitchen. But most times it’s just me and an occassional cat begging for milk or food. Lol! For today’s blog post I will be sharing my foodie adventures in New York city. A couple of years ago when I began sharing recipes on the Hispanic Kitchen site, I met a sweet lady by the name Norma Torres.  Norma is also a food blogger and had been with Hispanic Kitchen for a while. She is a well traveled person with many, many food adventures all over the world. We clicked right away and she said I was like the daughter she never had. As our friendship grew, she would often suggest that I  visit her in the city so that we could cook together. As it turns out, I had been invited to a private event in which chef Aaron Sanchez would be cooking a special dinner. After a week of trying to figure out how to make this trip happen, I made plans with Norma to visit her in the city!!! I was excited beyond words! Norma’s special request for us to cook together were tamales, her favorite, and tacos al pastor, her husband Phil’s favorite. The plan was in motion and my bus ticket was booked! What a night! All the photos are from the dinner, minus the guacamole picture. How we forgot, I have no idea, lol!

A gathering of special friends. Everyone I met was so nice. Dinner with new friends, a view of the city at night….priceless!

 

The Menu

Guacamole

Pico de Gallo

Salsa Verde

Queso Fundido con Frijoles

Chips, Of Course!

Tamales de Rajas con Queso 

Tacos al Pastor

Arroz Mexicano

Frijoles a la Charra/Borrachos

Homemade Corn Tortillas

Red and White Wine

Margaritas

And…One Lonely Martini

All these food recipes can be found right on my blog. I will link the food photos to the recipes. Click onto individual food pictures to see full recipes.

Guacamole by Norma

The only dish we forgot to take pictures of was the beautiful bowl of guacamole that Norma prepared. It’s a classic guacamole recipe, except that she used the larger Florida avocados. Click onto the picture to see a variety of guacamole recipes on site.

Pico de Gallo by Norma

I always include a bowl of Pico de Gallo for any Mexican themed dinner I am preparing. Click onto picture to find full recipe.

 

There are various versions of Salsa Verde. This is a basic version, minus the red chile de arbol. Click onto picture to see full recipe.

Queso Fundido con Frijoles by Norma

Don’t you just love when the most memorable dish and crowd favorite comes together at the last minute using leftover ingredients? Lol! That is exactly what happened with this easy and quick version of Queso Fundido.

2 cups refried beans

1 full cup Oaxaca cheese, shredded

Mexican crema

1 full cup roasted poblano strips

1 link of Spanish chorizo, diced

Layer the ingredients in a tall, heatproof bowl starting with beans, poblanos, crema, cheese and chorizo. We had enough to add four thin layers to fill the bowl. Norma cooked it quickly in the microwave for about 5 minutes on high or until it was heated through. Ok, so we forgot to add the crema and we served it on the side, ha , ha, ha!! Everyone loved it! I will be making this again for my friends soon!

Tamales de Rajas con Queso

Tacos al Pastor

Arroz Mexican-Red Rice

Frijoles a la Charra/Borrachos

Homemade Corn Tortillas

Down to the last detail…fresh tortillas, recipes from scratch, fresh flowers and wonderful new friends!

Fresh flowers on the table always make it extra special… Norma thinks of everything!

To say I had a fabulous time would be an understatement! Thank you Norma and Phil for being such gracious and generous host. You will never know how much it meant to me. Click onto picture above to visit Norma’s blog Platanos, Mangoes and Me! http://platanosmangoes.com/

My view as I fell asleep every night…..